Knight of Cups and Death

I was just flipping through my RW deck and noticed how similar the the horses and position of the riders are on the Knight of Cups and Death cards. It's as if the Knight of Cups lost his blue trappings and wings on his feet and helmet and traded his cup in for a big black flag! Both horses are looking forward, with their right legs moving forward. Even the background is somewhat similar, with a flowing river in the back.

I see the Death card as representing the death of the old, and the birth of the new. In that sense, one might see the Knight of Cups as a creative soul, thriving with life. In the Death card we might think of him as having shed his old creativity, etc, and as about to be reborn?

Me and Rachel Pollack, seems like I'm constantly referring to her, but in Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom, she has both pictures for Death and Knight of Cups in the discussion and description of the Knight. For all that, she doesn't have much to say about that except "he resembles Death, symbol of Transformation," and this about the conflicts of the Knight.

Basically this Knight is full of conflicts, between his committment to action and involvement of his questing nature and the passivity of water, his inexperience and undeveloped state. He has a hard time reconciling this contrast, so if the passive side denies his committments, he never allows his imagination to produce anything. His helmet and feet are winged, but his horse is slow.
The Death connection is following a genuine vision rather than escapism to transform himself by going deep with in to resolve his inner conflicts. It could be "the precise moment at which we give up the old masks and allow the transformation to take place" I couldn't find any reference in the Death description, but was struck by the similarity of terms, "lethargy" in Death and "passive" for Cups, refering to a desparate battle of the ego to avoid change (or in the case of the Knight) committments. The river might be "the unity of change and eternity" So this card could mean it's time to take on responsibility and grow into our adulthood, become more mature and make something of ourselves.

Thanks for the information WalesWoman... I like Rachel Pollack's take on the tarot.

Lark, I agree that it does seem as though the Knight of Cups is Death as a young man. It is almost as though the people kneeling infront of Mr Death might be some of the individuals that the Knight of Cups in his younger guise may have come across in his earthly-life.

I think many of the cards have shared imagery and experiences if you look carefully enough for it. The threads that tie our lives together are so closely woven that at times it is hard to determine which one you are looking at.

Originally posted by lark Maybe the Knight of Cups is Death as a young man?

Interesting, and quite fitting. Think about who Death must be as an individual. He needs to be strong, for the emotions of humans may interfear with his duty. He must be merciful, taking lives before thier time, because it's just the better thing to do.
A being of Love, sympathy and strength.